Olympic freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu to speak at SMU event in Singapore
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Eileen Gu is the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Eileen Gu, three-time Winter Olympic gold medallist, will speak at SMU's KFF Inspiring Women Leadership Series on Oct 12, marking her first speaking event in Singapore.
- The event, moderated by SMU president Lily Kong, follows a sold-out sign-up and strong public interest, with a waitlist now open.
- Gu gained fame for her skiing achievements and nationality switch from the US to China, becoming the most decorated Olympic freestyle skier in history by 2026.
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SINGAPORE – Since she announced herself on the world stage at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu has been making headlines not just for her sporting achievements, but also for her eloquence and intellect.
She has fielded a plethora of questions ranging from her nationality to neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to change, grow and reorganise – and on Oct 12, the three-time Winter Olympic gold medallist will bring her thoughts and cheerful energy to Singapore.
In an announcement on social media on Sept 22, Singapore Management University (SMU) said Gu will speak at the second edition of the KFF Inspiring Women Leadership Series.
The event, which will be at SMU’s Yong Pung How School of Law, is the 23-year-old’s first speaking engagement in Singapore, according to promotion materials, and is organised by the Karim Family Foundation (KFF) and the SMU Office of Alumni Relations.
SMU’s announcement was accompanied by a call for sign-ups, but a comment on SMU Alumni’s Instagram about an hour after the post went up said sign-ups were full. The account replied shortly after, saying that a waitlist had been opened because of overwhelming response.
Registration for the waitlist can be made on the event website.
Over 300 people attended the inaugural KFF Inspiring Women Leadership Series talk in 2025, which featured Malaysian activist Marina Mahathir, who is also the daughter of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, in a 75-minute conversation with SMU president Lily Kong.
Kong will again moderate the session with Gu, who graduated from Stanford University earlier in June.
Gu burst onto the freestyle skiing scene as a teenager at the 2021 world championships, where she won the halfpipe and slopestyle titles and clinched a bronze in the big air.
She gained global attention at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, partly for her stunts on the slopes – she won two golds and one silver – and also for the colour of her passport.
Gu was born and raised in San Francisco and started her freeskiing career representing the United States. She switched allegiance to China – where her mother is from – in 2019.
That decision was still drawing intense scrutiny even at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where she added one gold and two silver medals to her overall tally to become the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history.